Olivier Giroud has admitted he was close to leaving Chelsea in recent months and has insisted he is fully committed to the Chelsea cause after nothing materialised.

The experienced French striker drew strong links to both Inter and Lazio in the recent January transfer window but in the end Giroud to settle to stay put at Stamford Bridge, at least until the end of this season, when his contract with the club expires.

“From mid-December, and in January, I was in two minds. I was in the process of departing. Now I need to move on and just like before, I will give everything for Chelsea and for myself too as I have goals I want to achieve. I am 100% determined to help the club reach our goals,” he explained in an interview with French news outlet RMC Sport following Chelsea’s 2-0 home loss to Manchester United last night.

Giroud made just his eighth appearance across all competitions to date this season in the match and it was his first appearance for the Blues since the end of November last year. In his limited time on the park, the former Arsenal man, who has barely been in any of the Chelsea squad’s at all this season, has scored once.

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has denied that he was trying to put Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri under pressure with his recent comments.

In a recent interview the German tactician shared his surprise at the fact that given all the quality in the Bianconeri squad that they were not leading by 10 points in Serie A opposed to being 10 points worse off from this time last season.

The Turin based club are still sitting top of the Serie A table after 24 games played but find themselves far closer to other sides than they have otherwise been used to in the past few years with Lazio just a point behind and Inter just three points behind them.

“I didn’t want to put Maurizio under pressure. I don’t play these kinds of mind games,” he said during his pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League last 16 first leg tie against Spanish giants Atletico Madrid.

“Sometimes I don’t think before I speak, that happens. I said I don’t know why Juve aren’t 10 points ahead in the League.”

Klopp, who has transformed Liverpool into one of the most formidable sides around at the moment, then went on to praise both Lazio and Inter for what they have achieved this season.

“I saw Lazio against Inter on Sunday and that’s the reason [Juventus are not 10 points ahead]. These two teams are the reason. Inter are there, firing again whilst Lazio are having a once in a century kind of season, it will be tight at the top.

“I didn’t want to put any pressure on Maurizio, I respect him absolutely too much and I was happy when I heard his response, saying I’m funny.”

The post Liverpool Manager Klopp: “Lazio & Inter Are The Reason Juventus Aren’t 10 Points Clear In Serie A” appeared first on Sempreinter.

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Following his first league start for loan club Newcastle United, Inter owned wing back Valentino Lazaro has reflected on how he thinks he and the team fared in their 4-0 loss to Arsenal at St James’ Park over the weekend.

The Austrian national team defender joined the Premier League club in a loan for the remainder of this season during the recent January transfer window. As part of the deal, Newcastle United have an option to turn his stay with the club into a permanent one for a fee of around €20 million.

The 23-year-old played all barring the final 15 minutes of the game and whilst he did show some promising signs during his performance, he struggled massively when defending.

Lazaro shared his delight with his performance in the first half but admitted that the wheels would fall off in the second half after Arsenal scored two goals in quick succession early on in the half.

“First half, I felt very good and confident on the pitch. I had a lot of ways forward, and also with the set-pieces. We had some chances to score,” he said following the match, as quoted by The Shields Gazzette.

“For my first start, I was really happy with the first half. Second half, after those two quick goals, we fell apart. Unfortunately, for the second goal, he gets the ball between me feet, and that was very unlucky.

“Unfortunately, after that, the whole team fell apart. We have to work on that, to bounce back from those mentally tough situations.”

He then went on to discuss how he is finding his ongoing transformation from winger to wing back.

“It’s a position I’ve played over the last maybe two years. I’m adjusting to that. You can see that I’m a winger, and my strengths are in attack. I’m trying to learn more and more defensively. I’m trying to learn more there. With team-mates like this who help me out, it’s a lot easier.”

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Sven Goran Eriksson has backed Inter to be able to fight until the end of the season for the Serie A title despite their recent loss to his former employers Lazio this past weekend.

Inter headed into the past weekend sitting at the top of the table but finished the weekend sitting in third place due to Juventus winning against Brescia and Lazio beating them at the Stadio Olimpico.

Lots of questions have been asked about Inter and their title credentials in wake of the result but Eriksson is convinced Inter will be up there until the end and stressed that had the match finished in a draw, all that has been said probably would have been said.

“How did Inter seem to me in the match? Maybe a little less fierce than Lazio and less convinced but the will fight to the end for the title, you should never judge a team only on their last result. If Conte’s team had drawn in the end people would have said different things,” he is quoted as saying by PassioneInter.com.

The Swede, who was last in charge of the Philippines national team, was in charge of Lazio between 1997 and 2001 and led them to their second Serie A title in their history in the 1999/2000 season.

The post Sven Goran Eriksson: “Inter Were Less Fierce & Convinced Than Lazio But They Will Fight To The End For The Title” appeared first on Sempreinter.

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Former Inter midfielder and current Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has shared his delight at how both Inter and other former employers Lazio have fared this season in Serie A.

Both clubs find themselves very much in the race for the Serie A title this term. Lazio are just one point off of league leaders Juventus and sit in second place with 56 points whilst Inter are in third place with 54 points to their name.

“Lazio and Inter are both doing very well, they are two teams that I love very much and I am happy they are fighting against Juventus who have been winning continuously for years now,” he remarked in an interview with Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia earlier on today.

The 49-year-old, who has been in charge of the Spanish giants since 2011, spent two years with Inter between 1997 and 1999 and moved on to Lazio in 1999 and would spend four years in the Italian capital with the Biancocelesti club.

During his time on Inter’s books, the Argentine made a total of 85 appearances across all competitions in which he scored 14 goals, provided a single assist and played a part in Inter winning the UEFA Cup in 1998.

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Christian Eriksen is set to see an increase in playing time in Inter’s next three fixtures according to a report in today’s print edition of Corriere dello Sport.

The recently turned 28-year-old attacking midfielder joined Inter in the recent January transfer window for around €20 million from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur but has not played anywhere near as much as widely expected since coming in.

Whilst he has featured in all five games that have been played since his arrival on a four and a half year deal, he has been limited to just a total of 137 minutes on the park out of a possible 450 minutes.

Inter are set to face Ludogorets in the first leg of their Europa League round of 32 tie with the reigning Bulgarian champions on Thursday night and Eriksen should start in that match for what will be just the second time in a Nerazzurri shirt.

He should also see considerable game time in the return leg the following week as well as the match against Sampdoria which is sandwiched in between.

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Real Madrid are primed and ready to make a move for Inter striker Mauro Icardi if Paris Saint Germain do not take up their option to sign him according to a report from Spanish news outlet Diario Gol.

Icardi joined the reigning French champions on a season long loan from Inter this past Summer and as part of the deal, PSG have an option to turn his stay into a permanent one for a sum of €70 million.

As per the report, Icardi is not so sure on the idea of remaining with the French capital club due to fears of ending up trapped at the club like Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, neither of whom PSG are likely to ever let go.

If Icardi is not signed up permanently, Real Madrid believe that an offer in the region of €80 million should be enough to land the 26-year-old but they could try and offer €60 million plus either Luka Jovic or Luka Modric.

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Italy’s new tax laws for foreigners have Barcelona confident that they can strike a deal with Inter over Lautaro Martinez according to a report from Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo.

The Blaugrana club have set their sights on the 22-year-old Argentine international and rather than pay his €111 million release clause in his contract, they hope to be able to convince Inter to part ways with him by offering several players in return on top of some cash.

The new tax laws in Italy, which came into force at the start of this year, mean people who come to live and work in Italy are taxed at a reduced rate and for this reason, clubs also make a saving with them taxed less as well.

With Barcelona seemingly pondering dangling the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Arturo Vidal, Carles Alena and Jean Clair Todibo in front of Inter, Inter may be more inclined to take them on, particularly the first two, who have very high wages, due to these laws.

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In an interview with Italian broadcaster Sport Mediaset football show ‘Tiki Taka’, former Inter striker Christian Vieri has commented on Christian Eriksen and his lack of usage since joining Inter.

The recently turned 28-year-old Danish international attacking midfielder joined the Nerazzurri during the recent January transfer window club and whilst he has appeared in all five of Inter’s matches since his arrival, he has only been on the pitch for 137 minutes out of a possible 450.

Several pundits have raised questions about this and Vieri has become the latest of them to do so and does not understand why everyone wishes to make such a fuss of the situation.

“We want to make a big deal about Eriksen? I have never seen him in difficulty when he has played. He done well in the number 10 role when he came on against Lazio,” the former Italian national team striker, who spent half a dozen years with Inter between 1999 and 2005, explained.

After some possible reasons as to why Inter manager Antonio Conte has taken the course of action that he has were discussed, Vieri went on to dismiss one of the ideas raised which was to do with possibly disrupting the balance: “If you think he can break the balance of the team, why sign him?”

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The match officials for the upcoming first leg ties of this round of Europa League action have been confirmed with Carlos Del Cerro Grande assigned to referee Inter’s match away to Ludogorets.

The 43-year-old has refereed a total of 20 games across all competitions to date this season, including five matches in the Champions League.

Thursday night’s match at the Ludogorets Arena in Razgrad will be Del Cerro Grande’s first Europa League assignment this season and it will be the first time in his career that he referees either Ludogorets or Inter.

Juan Carlos Yuste and Roberto Alonso will be Del Cerro Grande’s assistants for the match whilst Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez will be the fourth official.

Juan Martínez Munuera has been assigned to take charge of VAR and he will have Diego Barbero alongside to assist him.

Thursday night’s match is scheduled to kick off at 19:55 local time, which is 18:55 CET.

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